Coach Hong Myung-bo of the 'Declaration of Infinite Competition' said, "The final list of the World Cup has yet to be confirmed... "Think about it until May" [Question and answer at the Cheonan site]

*This content was translated by AI.

It is an infinite competition system. Coach Hong Myung-bo of the South Korean national team until just before the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and the U.S

Coach Hong Myung-bo said at a press conference at 2 p.m. at Korea Football Park in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, to announce the list of European away matches (Côte d'Ivoire, Austria). We will select the player who is in the best performance and physical condition just before the finals," he promised.

Prior to the North Korea-China World Cup finals in June, the national team will face Ivory Coast in Milton Keynes, England, at 11 p.m. on March 28 (Korea Standard Time), and then play Austria at 3:45 a.m. on the 1st of next month for Vienna, Austria.

In fact, it's like a final mock test. Considering Hong Myung-bo Team's official schedule so far, the two consecutive games are likely to be the last warm-up match before confirming the final entry scheduled for May next year.

In the past, the final entry outline came out around this time before the World Cup finals. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, coach Shin Tae-yong announced a preliminary list of 28 players in mid-May after the warm-up match in March and selected the final 23 players after a domestic warm-up match. During the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Paulo Bento (Portugal) also confirmed the final list immediately after his final appearance with Iceland, focusing on domestic players.

-What have you been up to lately.

"There was a lot going on for three or four months. I have completed the draw and the preliminary exploration of the base camp. In February, he watched the players' matches in Europe and held individual interviews. Communication with the players is going smoothly. The place where the game is played is on the highlands. We are preparing in detail through meetings with local experts."

"We focused on players with good performance in our team. He also considered playing time. Some players play in rotation. I met players in Europe, and we had a lot of positive conversations."

"There are positions where you have to order the completeness, and there are positions where you have to experiment before the World Cup. In particular, the central midfielder has to find harmony."

"I heard Hwang In-beom was injured this morning. We still have to wait for the results."

-Yang Hyun-joon was included. Consider using wingers or wingbacks.

"When I was a coach, I showed good performance as a wing-back. Now, he is focusing on attacks such as breaking through one-on-one. He maintains a much better performance than he did when he was called up before. He scored multiple goals, so he will have good confidence. I think it could change the composition of the right side."

-Castrov was previously classified as a midfielder. This time, it's a defender.

Lee Myung-jae was injured in this call-up. Castrov is also used as a defense in his team. He has been playing for more than 60 minutes. As a result of the interview, it was found that his team was not training much as a central midfielder. I think it's a card that the national team can fully experiment with."

-If Kastrov is classified as a defense, will the main tactic be three-back. Park Jin-seop is the only defensive midfielder in this call-up.

"We have not clearly decided on a three-back or four-back. There are plans A and B. The biggest concern is the position (defensive midfielder). Park Jin-seop is now on the two-volanche in his team."

"There's Kwon Hyuk-kyu, too. There is no tall player in the defensive midfielder, and when the opponent uses the long ball, he tries to use Kwon Hyuk-kyu in the fight for the right to provide. We need to continue experimenting."

-How much did you prepare for the highlands.

"If you're on the ground for a long time, you'll get used to it. If you stay in a highland for two to three days, you will see a different phenomenon. The World Cup must be played in a higher region than the last match against Iran. Local adaptation is of utmost importance."

"In this March's A-match, it is most important to maintain the direction that we have been doing so far. In the meantime, I think the team has taken a step forward."

-The background of Hwang Hee-chan's selection is.

At the time of the interview, he was in the recovery phase of his injury. Two weeks later, he played and scored a goal. The team was on the verge of relegation, so there seemed to be a psychological burden. I selected him because he has a lot of experience in leading young players well within the Korean national team."

-Lee Dong-kyung and Seo Min-woo have been steadily selected. I chose Hong Hyun Suk this time.

Lee Dong-kyung and Seo Min-woo are players who know exactly well. Rather than personal matters, I didn't select them based on the team structure."

Hong met him in Belgium after the transfer. However, I haven't seen him play in person. I've been playing steadily since then."

"I heard about Hwang In-beom's injury today. Hong Hyun-suk can also play central midfielder and wing forward. He also checked his performance. The reason why we chose 27 people (not 26) is that we are waiting for the results of Hwang In-beom's examination."

-If it's the March list, can I think of it as the final entry. The message to the players is.

"It's hard to say that the final selection list has been completed at this point. Position competitiveness is the most important thing. I want to pick the best player in May and go to the World Cup. If you show good performance, anyone can come back into the national team."

-What to focus on in the match between Ivory Coast and Austria.

"I steadily set the main theme and managed the national team. The players followed well. Both the result and content of this game will be important. It will be even more important to figure out how competitive we can be in the finals."

-How to use Lee Jae-sung. Son Heung-min is silent on his team's goal.

"Both players are important. He also has a lot of experience in the national team. He's showing good performance."

"Son Heung-min says he's not scoring, but I think he's doing his part well. Lee Jae-sung has the best understanding of national team tactics. He is also a player of high utilization value."

-Oh Hyun-kyu Son Heung-min and Cho Kyu-sung are used.

"Nothing has been decided yet. It will be utilized depending on the situation. We are considering ways to maximize the merits of every player."

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*This content was translated by AI.